The City of Bulwayo that has borne the brunt of factory closures over the past few months will soon see a $60 million shopping mall going up at the Egodini Commuter Omnibus Rank.

Construction of the state-of-the-art mall, under a Build, Own and Transfer Agreement, is expected to start in two months' time.

Under the BOT agreement with a developer, Teraccotta Trading Private Limited, a joint venture between a Zimbabwean and a South African businessperson, the mall will be handed over to the local authority after two years of its completion.

Commuter omnibus operators and vendors using the rank were last year given two months to vacate the place. They have been given another two months to wrap up their business.

A ceremony to officially launch the project was held in the city Monday where acting town clerk Sikhangele Zhou said they were only going to relocate vendors and commuter operators when construction at the site starts.

Councilor Mlandu Ncube, chairman of the Finance and Budget Committee, said the development marks a new beginning for Bulawayo as the project is set to generate about 1,000 jobs.

“This mall is going to be a very big and wonderful mall. Everyone is going to admire it. We are expecting the construction to start in three months’ time,” said Ncube.